Sticky Clutch Pedal

I experienced a "sticky clutch pedal" recently. Releasing clutch in 1st gear, and it only came back about 1/3 to 1/2 from the wall. Pulled over immediately and turned off engine. Played with pedal roughly half-dozen times --- pushing full in and releasing, then repeat, etc --- and eventually the pedal popped back out to its normal position. Re-started, and off I went without any more (apparent) problems.

However, I am curious if anyone else has seen this, and what the remedy or consequences might be.

N.B. The car was "hot" at the time --- had just been parked for 2-3 minutes after a good run of about 10 to 15 minutes.

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

I see your car is an 06, and you said it was hot at the time. Has the clutch come back?

This sounds a lot like the clutch slave problem that affected some 07/08 cars, from a bad batch of slaves, but I've never heard of that effecting 2006 cars.

Your car might benefit from a fluid flush. Have you ever changed the brake/clutch fluid?

I believe there were some late-build '06 cars caught in the "bad clutch slave" snafu -

To the OP- you might want to talk with a dealer and see if your VIN is in the range for the replacement campaign. If not, you should keep a very watchful eye on it. You should have flushed the brake (and thus clutch) fluid at the two year mark, if not, it might be something you want to get done.

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

Originally Posted by beez

I believe there were some late-build '06 cars caught in the "bad clutch slave" snafu -

To the OP- you might want to talk with a dealer and see if your VIN is in the range for the replacement campaign. If not, you should keep a very watchful eye on it. You should have flushed the brake (and thus clutch) fluid at the two year mark, if not, it might be something you want to get done.

brad

Car is a relatively early build (11/05).

Brake fluid last flushed about 6 weeks ago by professional shop with which I have had good experience.

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

i see you had the clutch serviced [fluid] but you said "hot" so i think it still can be a fluid issue. check with the shop and see if they used a high temp and most important fresh fluid.i think the fluid has a shelf life of 4/6 weeks after that it gets water in it and it 'boils' thats why your pedal fail when hot

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

Originally Posted by extanker

i see you had the clutch serviced [fluid] but you said "hot" so i think it still can be a fluid issue. check with the shop and see if they used a high temp and most important fresh fluid.i think the fluid has a shelf life of 4/6 weeks after that it gets water in it and it 'boils' thats why your pedal fail when hot

Interesting...High temp (racing) fluid was installed in June. Haven't noticed any issues with the brakes. If the fluid were off, would this affect the brake feel as well?

By "hot" I mean simply that I had been running strong for 5-10 minutes, then stopped (engine on) for 2-3 minutes or so, and on re-engaging 1st gear the first time is when the clutch pedal became temporarily sticky.

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

Originally Posted by kjm

Thanks for the advice. I will do so. Any other signs to watch?

Only other sign would be hydraulic (brake) fluid on the floor, but the under-body cladding might catch it. Many folks have reported no leakage before the pedal went flat... As Gator said, pulling the pedal up will probably get you home, but sometimes these intermittent problems can be hard to duplicate once you get the car to the dealer. Another way is (if you have the time, and where the car stops is not dangerous) if this happens again - leave the pedal on the floor and call roadside assistance to take the car to the dealer - they will have the problem in front of them, and have to fix it, rather than having to duplicate it for the dealer - but of course that's a lot of time and hassle.

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

Originally Posted by kjm

Interesting...High temp (racing) fluid was installed in June. Haven't noticed any issues with the brakes. If the fluid were off, would this affect the brake feel as well?

By "hot" I mean simply that I had been running strong for 5-10 minutes, then stopped (engine on) for 2-3 minutes or so, and on re-engaging 1st gear the first time is when the clutch pedal became temporarily sticky.

we are missing something here....do you have a hyd. clutch ? does it use the same type fluid as the brakes do [ie dot 3/dot4/dot5] ?many autos use the same fluid for brakes and hyd clutch[seperate systems] look at the clutch fluid,if its funky black flush it with fresh high temp fluid. brake/clutch fluid is hydoscopic and the old stuff will boil at a lower temp making air in a hyd system which will give you a stuck/funkadellic pedal...corvettes are notorious for it. once it cools down at bit the pedal returns [pun intended] to normal

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

Originally Posted by extanker

we are missing something here....do you have a hyd. clutch ? does it use the same type fluid as the brakes do [ie dot 3/dot4/dot5] ?many autos use the same fluid for brakes and hyd clutch[seperate systems] look at the clutch fluid,if its funky black flush it with fresh high temp fluid. brake/clutch fluid is hydoscopic and the old stuff will boil at a lower temp making air in a hyd system which will give you a stuck/funkadellic pedal...corvettes are notorious for it. once it cools down at bit the pedal returns [pun intended] to normal

In the late-model Porsches, the master cylinder uses the same reservoir for both the brakes and the clutch.

Re: Sticky Clutch Pedal

Originally Posted by beez

Only other sign would be hydraulic (brake) fluid on the floor, but the under-body cladding might catch it. Many folks have reported no leakage before the pedal went flat... As Gator said, pulling the pedal up will probably get you home, but sometimes these intermittent problems can be hard to duplicate once you get the car to the dealer. Another way is (if you have the time, and where the car stops is not dangerous) if this happens again - leave the pedal on the floor and call roadside assistance to take the car to the dealer - they will have the problem in front of them, and have to fix it, rather than having to duplicate it for the dealer - but of course that's a lot of time and hassle.

brad

Will report further after trip to dealer for in-warranty service. They asserted that "are no outstanding service items on your car." Porsche service protocol seems to be to bleed the clutch fluid, then see if the problem re-appears. FWIW... Hopefully (or not!) more to say later...